Saturday, November 23, 2013

Most of my life I have been a garment sewer. I sewed primarily for my daughters until they were grown and gone. I never had any interest in quilting. Instead, I knitted, crocheted, and tried my hand at counted cross stitch. Then I hit middle age. Somehow, sewing for myself isn't very much fun. I have trouble fitting patterns by myself and recently, I find myself not overly pleased with my final projects. So, I started looking at other options.

I went back to knitting for awhile, but that didn't seem to give me the creative joy that sewing does. So I began looking at quilting. I have written before about the owl quilt for my daughter and ballet quilt for the neighbor. Now, I've decided to play with quilting and see what shakes out.

Earlier this week, I started my first pieced quilt. I began with a simple 9 Patch. I am really intrigued with the Hidden 9 Patch, but I settled on a simple 9 patch as a beginner quilt. Here are my fabrics:

I found these 18x22" bundles 1/2 price at Joanne's Fabrics. There are 2 packs of batiks and 3 of bright solids. I coordinated a black, pantweight fabric to make the strips between the blocks.

I cut 5" squares from the fabrics, then arranged them to my liking:

I had so much fun moving the squares around!!

Then, I added the black border from the pantweight. I wanted to use a super-dark navy that had been scraps in my closet for months, but wouldn't you know, I couldn't find them when I needed them. I think I tossed them last week when we were emptying closets and moving stuff around in preparation for the new carpet installation. I was really angry at myself, but that doesn't fix anything and certainly doesn't bring the fabric back. So back to J's I went. Fortunately, the pantweight was on sale, so I didn't feel too bad about having to make an unexpected purchase. Here are my squares with the strips attached:

Let me get back to sewing the strips together. Will post more when I'm done.

About Me

I am a nurse of 30 years and an avid sewer and exerciser. I love the feel of fabric and the level of accomplishment that results from creating one-of-a-kind clothes.
I graduate from a master's program in May 2010. With that degree, I will be changing my professional focus and will need to dress differently. I am on a quest to creating a selection of patterns that meet my needs, stand up to wear, are attractive, fit properly, and look more expensive than they are. Let's see if I can do it!